Senators seek probe into China's yuan peg

Expressing frustration over the Obama administration's light touch on China's yuan exchange rate, two U.S. senators asked the Commerce Department on Thursday to investigate alleged Chinese currency "manipulation."

Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said the department has legal authority to determine whether China's currency practices are a form of subsidy and if so, impose tariffs on Chinese imports.

The two lawmakers have attempted to pass punitive tariff legislation against China in recent years to pressure it into floating its currency, and Schumer threatened on Thursday to revive the effort.